Validation and Models in Computational Biomedical Science: Philosophy, Engineering and Science (360G-Wellcome-109714_Z_15_Z)

With this workshop we will raise the profile of medical humanities as a contributor to the ongoing development of scientific technologies, methodologies and tools that have a strong impact on shaping biomedical science and practice. The particular focus of the workshop is the key epistemological topic of model validation, which is of common concern to scientists, clincians, engineers and philosophers, and crucial to the effective implementation of computational modelling and simulating in biomedical application areas. The central questions to be jointly addressed are: how are models evaluated and assessed in the different contexts of computational medicine, do differences in conceptions give rise to obstacles in translation across sectors, and how do approaches to model validation affect potential biomedical practice in the clinic and in health care more broadly? Throughout we will focus on issues of cross-disciplinarity and in particular the role of philosophy and social science in mediating between different conceptions of model validation. The workshop will be used to intiate a roadmap for future work on complementary perspectives on computational biomedical science, and in particular, will inform a major collaborative grant proposal.